Regional President: Mike
I joined our association back in 1996 and I can still remember my tester exuding passion for the USPTA as he tried to impress on our group of just-tested new members how important it would be to “get involved,” to truly become active members. For me, that brief litany turned out to be quite prophetic.
Regional Vice President: Lisa
Secretary: Christy Bennett
Treasurer: Chris Stevens
Honestly, I hadn’t thought of that day or Mike Quitko’s speech in years. But attending this year’s USPTA World Conference in New Orleans jogged my memory. In many ways, this year’s event felt like a class reunion. I was reacquainted with friends and colleagues from almost every phase of my career, many of whom I hadn’t seen in 10 or more years. And my journey could have never even started without my decision to get certified.
The theme of this issue of Yankee Prose is “the benefits of membership.” I’ll not bother listing them for you. Instead, I’ll reiterate something I’ve referenced often.
Vice President: Kristen Gerety
“The most valuable benefit of USPTA membership is the instant access you gain to a community of experienced, knowledgeable tennis professionals that can directly impact your career trajectory.”
Vice President: Billy Previdi
When I left that certification test 26 years ago, I knew nobody. I was a Recreation Department Tennis Director and the General Manager of a small indoor facility in western Massachusetts. I was just getting started in our industry.
Vice President: Milan Kubala
Past President: Michael
Fast forward to today and I sit on the USPTA National Executive Committee as President of our New England Division, which was just named Small Division of the Year. I’m Vice Chair of a USTA National Committee. I was a 15 year USTA New England Board member, a 12 year State Association President, and spent 15 years as a member of USTA’s National Workshop faculty.
NE Executive Director: Pam Dodman
How the heck did all that happen? It’s pretty simple really. I started attending USPTA New England’s Division Conferences, by myself. I met people. I put myself out there. It wasn’t difficult. We all share a passion for what we do and for tennis in general. And when folks like Jeff Waters, Bob Greene, Kirk Anderson, and Ann Davis asked me to be a part of something, I said “yes.” That’s it, other than for doing the work.
Kirk Anderson, at the time Director of Coaches and Programs for USTA, would always ask me what I thought was the best part of whatever training event he’d devised to make us better. He stopped asking me because my answer was always the same: “Learning from the other participants in the program.” After this year’s World Conference, I sent one New England attendee a message to thank him for attending and for spending so much of his time with us. Here is an excerpt of his reply:
“… although the World Convention was great, I learned more hanging out with you guys. Can’t wait until the next time we are together…”
One of my biggest worries is that our newest generation of professionals may lose this invaluable connection to our community. Virtual continuing education is definitely here to stay. While I believe that’s an overall positive thing, it does mean that the need to attend in-person conferences no longer exists.
To make it easier for our members to attend live and in person, our Division has tried several things: we’ve held shorter half-day state events; we’ve partnered with USTA New England events like Tennis Weekend and offered our members continuing education credits for attending; we shortened our Spring Conference to two days and held it on Thursday and Friday; and we offered our in-person division conference at a substantially reduced rate
I’d love to hear from some of our members on this topic. Have you attended an in-person conference? Why or why not? Do you value inperson events or do you prefer to get CEUs online? What reasons keep you from attending in-person events? If inclined, please contact me directly via email or phone
All The Best, Mike Kolendo; USPTA New England President
In order to get to a destination efficiently and repeatedly it helps to use GPS so you can get there as easily as possible and as often as you would like. Even if you make a mistake on your way, your GPS will reroute and correct you, so you are virtually guaranteed success in your travels.
In doubles, many players are trying to get to a destination (winning more matches) with faulty or no GPS. They play random tennis and rely on flawed strategies and are frustrated when they don’t get consistent results. Today I would like to share The Previdi Systems GPS for match play. The ingredients you and your partner need to have an advantage over your opponents because you will develop patterns based on what the analytics tell us about being successful in doubles.
1) Get a high percentage of first serves in. This is confusing to many players because they will tell you that they’re trying to get more first serves in. The problem is that they are trying to make a low percentage serve (flat), a high percentage of the time. Spoiler alert: this doesn’t work! When you hit a first serve, your opponent is less likely to be thinking about being aggressive and more likely to be concerned with making a good return. It's also much easier to utilize and involve your partner on your first serve.
2) You must make two balls on every point!
We know that the average point in doubles lasts 3.2 shots. That means if you make your first two shots (serve +1, or return +1), you will win the average point and you will be able to win any points that exceed 4 shots. This also informs the practice court. It makes no sense to do drills and games that don't include serve and return. In fact, you should only do drills that don't include those shots when you're warming up in your clinic or practice.
3) Control the net as a team. When you stay at the baseline after a serve or return, you make yourself vulnerable in several ways:
a) The other net player is a danger to your team.
b) You're playing 1 vs. 2 if the opponents both come to the net, and you leave your partner vulnerable to being attacked.
c) If your opponent is smart, they will hit SAL (short, angled, and low) and force you to run to et balls rather than hitting everything deep.
d) You will only be able to get a lob over your partner's head after it bounces. This is a huge disadvantage.
You always want the player that is on the same side as the ball (server's partner, receiver's partner on a crosscourt return) closer to the net. They will be getting any balls that land in the yellow area. They are also close to the center window (turquoise box), the area 4.5 feet to either side of the center strap. Eighty percent of balls in doubles pass through the center window so we need to control that window to be successful. We call the player who is at the net The Hunter.
The server or receiver that puts the ball in front of the Hunter is called The Helper. Their job is to set up the Hunter by keeping the ball in front of them. The Helper is always farther back than their partner (Hunter), just inside or just
So how should you position yourselves at the net?
to
continued continued
behind the service line depending on the depth of their shot. This will ensure that no lobs can get over their head and it sets up a foolproof scenario on middle balls: The Hunter has opportunity, and The Helper has responsibility. Since the two players are not next to each other there will be no confusion on middle balls. Problem solved.
4) Control the Center Window. Since 80% of balls go through the center window, it is imperative that you control the window on three specific occasions:
a) When you are winning. You need to cut off more balls when you're winning and there is no risk to you. It also puts much more pressure on the opponent.
b) When your partner hits a shot that makes the opponent uncomfortable.
c) When you see a pattern in your opponent on a specific shot or situation.
5) Be disruptive and practice disruption. Every server would prefer that all returns of serve come crosscourt so they don't have to run and can hit their favorite shots (groundstrokes, lobs). You need to practice SAL returns when going crosscourt but more importantly you need to get proficient at lob returns and hard returns at the opposing net player. Your opponents don't prepare for these returns and will be very uncomfortable when you show them how weak they are against them. This tactic will also make the crosscourt returns you hit more effective.
6) The Server and their partner should always have a plan. Whether they are using signals or talking, the server and the net player must always be on the same page for every point. There is no valid reason for not being on the same page.
Review 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
First serves in. Always make the first two shots. Both players at the net: Hunter and Helper. Close the Center Window whenever possible. Use variety to be disruptive. Always have a service game plan.
Bill and Matt Previdi have developed The Previdi System Doubles for the Smart Player They specialize in teaching adult, competitive doubles players, and have presented at USPTA conferences around the country. They are annually on the faculty at The Tennis Congress, the largest program for adult players in the nation. www.theprevidisystem.com
Do you have someone teaching tennis at your club, recreation department, or tennis camp whom you would like to get USPTA certified? Do you know the difference between a Tennis Instructor and a Certified Professional? Do you want to know how to earn your Elite Professional status? Below is some general information.
There are 3 levels of membership: L1, L2, and L3 (4 levels when including the Master Professional category). I say levels of "membership" and not certification because L1, the Tennis Instructor level, is not considered a "certified" professional. The L2 membership is the "Certified Professional" level. Generally speaking, the L1 membership is more suited for part-time tennis coaches while the L2 is best for full-time tennis teaching professionals. Liability insurance is available at all 3 levels.
On another note, one might confuse L1, L2, L3 with T1, T2, T3 (like me), however T1, T2, and T3 refer to the Teaching Essential workshops that must be completed as part of the certification process. In the Tennis Instructor level (L1), one of the criteria is to complete the Tennis Essentials (T1) workshops. Tennis Essentials 2 and 3 must be completed for the Certified Professional level (L2).
The next two pages list the requirements for L1 and L2 membership. If a person applies to be a Certified Professional (L2), she/he must complete the requirements for BOTH L1 and L2.
To become an Elite Professional (L3), one must first be a Certified Professional in good standing for a minimum of one year. There are additional tests and educational credits that need to be completed to earn the Elite Professional status.
To apply for the Tennis Instructor or Certified Professional levels, or to upgrade to the Elite Professional level, please click here.
*The AIM program is a mentoring program to help new members in the USPTA. Click here for more information.
**SAM Insurance is Sexual Abuse and Molestation Insurance.
The current continuing education cycle ends December 31, 2022. This means that you must have earned 15 continuing education units (CEUs) by the end of this year. To check your educational status complete the following steps:
go to the USPTA home page (uspta.com), then login once you're logged in, click on your name on the left side of the screen (see below as an example)
you will be taken to your home account page called "My Account" near the top on the right side of the page, there will be several tabs (see below)
click on "Member Documents". You will be asked to "Click here to access member documents". click where it askes you, then you will be taken to your documents page (see below)
If you have not earned 15 credits, there are still things you can do to earn them by the end of this year. You can go to tennisresources.com. There are thousands of articles, videos, webinars, etc. that you can watch and read for credit. We are also hosting a Joint Virtual Conference on November 9th and 10th, where you can attend virtually or watch the taped sessions at your convenience (but within a specified time frame.) The theme of the joint conference is "How to Make $$$ on Court". Below is a schedule of speakers and topics. You can earn up to 8 hours of educational credit!! The cost will be $45 for members. A separate communication will be sent on how to register and pay.
not that it's a competition or anything....but thanks to Angelo, New England was second in the nation in USPTA Pickleball certifications! Way to go Angelo!! This doesn't include our recent instructors, shown above. This pickleball certification was held at Wentworth By The Sea in Rye, NH. The next pickleball certification is October 16th, in Rocky Hill, CT. Please click here if you would like to register.
Today there is a common thread among all the people at your club. Young or old, novice or professional, competitive player or weekend warrior, all of us have a smartphone. We use our mobile devices to do everything in our lives. Do you remember what it was like to get directions to a place or business you wanted to visit, that you had never frequented before? The yellow pages to look up the phone number and call for open hours and directions, a map to verify or plan your route, and a good old fashioned guess as to what time you needed to leave home to get there.
Our mobile devices have become our lifeline to practically everything we do. As a club you need to put your organization in the same place that your players are using to access and organize their lives - a simple app, right on their phone. Here are a few wins you will realize when you move your club to the thing your players use most.
Convenience for Players: One of the major pain points for players and organizations is the ability to quickly view and book available courts or programming at your club. Players' lives are full and connected to their phones. When they send or get that text about playing on Tuesday at lunch with their friends, the ability to provide a quick and easy way to get on the court sets your club apart. Readily available resources (courts, lessons, clinics) and ease of setup is a proven way to drive additional revenue at your club and enhance the player experience. Bonus: this also reduces administrative work as you are not staffing calls to reserve courts and lessons, but rather letting a tool do that work for you.
Convenience for Coaches: What do coaches, instructors, and pros love? They love their sport and teaching it! What do they not love? Administration, keeping up with calendars, running down payments, and tracking hours. What if your tennis and pickleball pros could be on the court more often and handle all the administrative tasks in a fraction of the time? A mobile app allows for easy visibility of the instructor schedule along with other crucial information. Instructors can easily edit classes, sign up players for events, schedule and take payment for lessons, and record attendance - all on their mobile device. Imagine a world where your instructors are doing more of what they love and less of what they loathe. That world is now a reality with a mobile app for your club that caters to their needs.
Clear Communication for All: Clear communication from your club, creates the right expectations, and happy players. You need a mobile app for alerts and notifications whether by email or text. When the weather changes or you need to alert your members quickly, a mobile app is your best friend. Apps help manage communication and notifications, including when there are new opportunities, like new classes or events your players can sign up for. People are on the go and using their mobile device is the easiest way to keep them up to speed with what’s happening at your organization.
If you're interested reservation software, visit more information.
Lisa Gilbride retires after 27 years at the Central Lincoln County YMCA in Damariscotta, ME.
Maine state USPTA President, Wilbur Shardlow, and brother Bill, captain their team to the national USTA league finals in January. Their team, Mainely Old Guys, will participate in the 65 & over division.
Avis Murray makes the cover of this Gloucester publication! Click on the picture above to read about Avis Murray's life and contributions.
J.M. Sorrell voted by the national Executive Committee to serve on the national Nominating Committee.
If you would like to see yourself or your colleagues accomplishments recognized, please email me!! pamela.dodman@uspta.org
